UNLV football made a historic hire on Dec.12, 2024, as longtime SEC head coach Dan Mullen was appointed the new head coach of the Rebel football program by Director of Athletics Erick Harper. A 103-game winner at the University of Florida and Mississippi State University,
Mullen returned to the sidelines in Las Vegas after spending the previous three seasons as an ESPN college football analyst and proceeded to win more games in his first season in Las Vegas than anyone in school history. In fact, his debut season at UNLV earned him the honor of being named the national FWAA Steve Spurrier First-Year Head Coach of the Year.
The 14th head coach in UNLV history, Mullen brought with him to the desert nearly three decades of coaching experience, including 13 as a head man. He spent nine years at the helm of MSU and a combined eight years at Florida, first as offensive coordinator/quarterbacks coach and returning to Gainesville to lead the program from 2018-21.
After coaching UNLV to a 10-4 mark and first-place regular-season finish in the Mountain West in 2025, Mullen headed into his second fall in the Scarlet & Gray with a 113-65 overall record and a 7-4 bowl game mark. His winning percentage in bowl games (.636) ties him for the 22nd-best such mark in college football history and he has seen 76 players under his guidance drafted in the NFL.
Additionally, Mullen was one of 28 names making up the 2025 Paul “Bear” Bryant Coach of the Year Watch List after guiding the Rebels to their first 6-0 start since 1974 and defeating every non-conference opponent in the same season for the first time ever. UNLV, which made a bowl trip for the third consecutive season for the first time ever, scored at least 29 points in every regular-season game en route to a top seed in the Mountain West Championship game. It marked the fifth time he has been on a Bryant Award watch list during his career.
Mullen compiled an overall 34-15 mark in Gainesville over four years and led UF to national prominence in just his first season. He and the Gators took the next step in his second and third seasons with an SEC Championship Game appearance to highlight the 2020 campaign.
In 2014, Mullen was honored as the National College Football Coach of the Year by the Maxwell Football Club. He also garnered honors as the SEC Coach of the Year in the same season. His tenure in Starkville saw the program ascend to a No. 1 ranking during the regular-season and play in a school-record eight consecutive bowl games.
As the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at UF prior to joining MSU in 2009, Mullen helped produce a Heisman Trophy, Davey O’Brien and Maxwell Award-winning quarterback (Tim Tebow), along with a Rimington Trophy finalist (Mike Degory) and a Biletnikoff Award semifinalist (Chad Jackson).
Before heading to Gainesville for the first time, Mullen served as the quarterback coach for Utah with head coach Urban Meyer, helping develop Alex Smith - the first overall selection in the 2005 NFL Draft.
Prior to his time in Salt Lake City, Mullen served as quarterbacks coach at Bowling Green for two seasons, helping the Falcons record 6,627 yards of total offense with 81 touchdowns during that span. Mullen spent two years before his time at Bowling Green as a graduate assistant at Notre Dame, and before that assisted with Syracuse’s 1998 Big East championship and Orange Bowl run.
Mullen was born in 1972 in Manchester, New Hampshire. He earned a bachelor’s degree in exercise and sport science from Ursinus College in 1994 and a master's in education from Wagner College in 1996. A two-year starter at tight end for Ursinus College in Collegeville, Pennsylvania, Mullen earned First Team All-Centennial Conference honors as a senior.
He is married to the former Megan West and the couple has two children, son Canon and daughter Breelyn.
DAN MULLEN’S COACHING FILE
YEARS SCHOOL -- POSITION
2025-SA UNLV – Head Coach
2018-21 Florida – Head Coach
2009-17 Mississippi State – Head Coach
2005-08 Florida – Offensive Coordinator, Quarterbacks
2003-04 Utah – Quarterbacks
2001-02 Bowling Green – Quarterbacks
1999-2000 Notre Dame – Graduate Assistant (Offense)
1998 Syracuse – Graduate Assistant (Offense)
1996-97 Columbia – Wide Receivers
1994-95 Wagner – Wide Receivers
MULLEN’S RECORD AS HEAD COACH
YEAR SCHOOL ALL CONF
2025 UNLV 10-4 6-2 (MW)
2021 Florida 5-6 2-6 (SEC)
2020 Florida 8-4 8-2 (SEC)
2019 Florida 11-2 6-2 (SEC)
2018 Florida 10-3 5-3 (SEC)
2017 Mississippi State 8-4 4-4 (SEC)
2016 Mississippi State 6-7 3-5 (SEC)
2015 Mississippi State 9-4 4-4 (SEC)
2014 Mississippi State 10-3 6-2 (SEC)
2013 Mississippi State 7-6 3-5 (SEC)
2012 Mississippi State 8-5 4-4 (SEC)
2011 Mississippi State 7-6 2-6 (SEC)
2010 Mississippi State 9-4 4-4 (SEC)
2009 Mississippi State 5-7 3-5 (SEC)
13 Years 113-65 60-54
10-4 UNLV 6-2 UNLV
34-15 UF 21-13 UF
69-46 MSU 33-39 MSU
POSTSEASON HEAD COACHING HISTORY
2025 Scooter's Coffee Frisco Bowl (UNLV) Ohio L, 17-10
2020 Goodyear Cotton Bowl (Florida) Oklahoma L, 55-20
2020 SEC Championship Game (Florida) Alabama L, 52-46
2019 Capital One Orange Bowl (Florida) Virginia W, 36-28
2018 Chick-fil-A Peach Bowl (Florida) Michigan W, 41-15
2016 St. Petersburg Bowl (Mississippi State) Miami (OH) W, 17-16
2015 Belk Bowl (Mississippi State) NC State W, 51-28
2014 Orange Bowl (Mississippi State) Georgia Tech L, 49-34
2013 Liberty Bowl (Mississippi State) Rice W, 44-7
2013 Gator Bowl (Mississippi State) Northwestern L, 34-20
2011 Music City Bowl (Mississippi State) Wake Forest W, 23-17
2011 Gator Bowl (Mississippi State) Michigan W, 52-14
